Neighbors: Who has the recipe for a friendship bread starter?

Every now and then I get a request from one or more of you. This time, it’s our neighbor Helen Ellis of Greenfield, who is looking for a recipe for the “starter” of a 30-day or friendship cake.

She said she believes a can of fruit cocktail and sugar is mixed and left to ferment to create the starter. She’s just not sure of the amounts of each and whether there are any other ingredients.

Helen told me she’s not sure what she is doing wrong, but can’t seem to keep the starter from becoming moldy.

“I have never had a problem before, but now I can’t get it right,” she told me.

Would you please help her by writing me, so that I can call her with your suggestions, as well as share them with others. Once I have the answer, I will share the full recipe with all of you so that you can make your own friendship cake.

FRANKLIN COUNTY REGIONAL DOG SHELTER will hold a rabies clinic at 10 Sandy Lane in Turners Falls on April 12 from noon to 2 p.m. I wanted to let you know far enough ahead, so you could plan.

The cost is $17 per animal. Dogs must be on a leash and cats in a carrier.

If you have verification that your animal’s rabies vaccine expires on or before April 12, a three-year vaccine certificate will be available to you.

Town clerks from the following towns will be available to register your dog on the same day: Montague, Gill, Northfield, Bernardston and Whately.

You may also bring your dog or cat to the clinic, even if you don’t live in Franklin County.

I JUST LEARNED THAT our neighbor David Fersh of Charlemont will perform at the Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Ave. A in Turners Falls on March 14. David will be performing as part of the center’s coffeehouse series. He will play guitar and sing original and cover songs. He will be accompanied by bassist and guitarist John Miller.

The program will include a wide variety of styles, including folk, blues, rock, Broadway and jazz standards.

There will also be sing-alongs, so warm up your vocal c ords. I hear there will also be a few surprises.

For more information, call 413-863-3221.

UNITED CHURCH OF BERNARDSTON is holding a corn fritter and pancake breakfast to raise money for Relay for Life Team 111, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” the Dwight family and friends, who will donate the full amount to the American Cancer Society.

The breakfast will be March 30 from 8 to 10:30 a.m. and it is all you can eat. There will be pancakes, corn fritters, sausage, juice, coffee, tea and milk.

Tickets will be sold at the door. They are $7 for adults and $3 for children ages 4 to 13. Children 3 and under are free.

There will also be a bake sale and drawings during the breakfast.

DIAL/SELF YOUTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES will hold its annual Badminton Bash fundraising tournament on March 30 in Forslund Gym on the Northfield Mount Hermon School campus in Gill.

Tournament times are 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1 to 3:30 p.m. and teams must register in advance for the event at: www.dialself.org.

Each player on each team is encouraged to collect pledges and donations of at least $50 to participate.

There will be trophies for first- and second-place teams and there will also be wild-card trophies.

For more information, call 413-774-7054, ext. 113 or email: spinkos@dialself.org.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND and enjoy Saturday — the temperature is supposed to get up into the 40s. Hang on! Spring is almost here.

To contact Anita Fritz, a staff reporter at The Recorder, send an email to: franklincountyneighbors@gmail.com or call 413-772-0261, ext. 280. You can also reach Anita on Facebook at Anita’s Neighbors. Information to be included in Neighbors may also be sent to: neighbors@recorder.com up to noon two days before you want it to run.